


The Naming of Names

by angelskuuipo



Series: Possibilities 'verse [12]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Baby, F/M, GFY, Gift Fic, POV Animal, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 22:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15982250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelskuuipo/pseuds/angelskuuipo
Summary: Baby Lewis-Barnes has been born and it’s time to reveal her name.





	The Naming of Names

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shanachie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanachie/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Recognizable characters do not belong to me, but the original characters and the story does. Please do not copy or re-distribute without my permission.
> 
> Holy crap, I wrote something! My muse has been in hiding for a couple of years now, barring the occasional poem and, just recently, a drabble. I’m super excited to revisit this ‘verse and I hope the birthday girl, my friend and beta, Shanachie, likes this. Big thanks to Elisabeth (dragonydreams) for the beta.
> 
> Also, I am not a parent (unless you count my furbabies, which I do), so I hope I have done the aftermath of child birth justice.
> 
> Written: September 12, 2018  
> Word Count: 1965

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

James Lewis-Barnes sat in the ridiculously comfortable chair next to his wife’s bed and stared at the tiny blanket-wrapped bundle in his arms. If he remembered, he’d have to thank Tony for making the Medical floor in the tower the least hospital-like environment he’d ever seen; Darcy’s bed was big enough for all three of them. If he remembered. Right now, he’d be lucky if he recalled his own name when asked, he was so tired; but also, so in awe.

“You took your own sweet time getting here, you know that, _malen’kiy_? You wore us all out, but especially your mama. Don’t tell her I said this, but, I think you might be as stubborn as she is,” he murmured to their newborn daughter who was starting to make fussy noises.

Darcy’s labor had been long and arduous, much longer than either of them was comfortable with. After the first twelve hours, James started getting nervous, not to mention he wasn’t sure if his flesh hand would ever recover from the way Darcy was squeezing it. When twenty-four hours had passed and there was still no baby, he was downright frantic, despite assurances that it wasn’t uncommon.

Thankfully, twenty-six hours after Darcy’s water broke in the middle of movie night in the common room, their daughter finally deigned to make her entrance into the world. 

“I heard that,” came a raspy voice from the bed and James flinched in surprise. He looked up and met his wife’s exhausted eyes.

“Why are you awake?” he asked even as he shifted so he could hold her hand.

“I’m leaking,” she muttered and glanced down. James looked at the front of her gown in the dim light of the room and saw a small wet patch on her chest.

“Great timing,” he said with a wan smile. “I was getting ready to see about a bottle or something.”

She unsnapped the shoulder of her gown and he passed her their precious baby girl. Darcy jumped when she latched onto her nipple and screwed up her face in consternation.

“What’s wrong?” James asked.

“It feels weird.”

“Good weird? Bad weird?”

“Weird weird.”

“That’s informative.”

Darcy snorted and swatted at him weakly. “Ask me again when I’ve had more than two hours sleep and I don’t feel like I’ve been run over by Iron Man.”

The baby finished her snack and went right to sleep after an impressive burp for one only a few hours old. James took her and placed her reverently in the bassinet beside the bed. Darcy made halfhearted grabby hands at him and he laid down beside her, careful of the few tubes and wires still attached to her.

They both sighed in contentment and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

~(*)~

Smudge pranced anxiously, waiting for Captain-Steve-friend to open the door. She had to check on Darcy-mom and James-dad. Darcy-mom had been hurting and smelled funny and she’d been taken away and, even though the rest of the pack said she was okay, Smudge needed to see that for herself.

“Okay, Smudge, okay. Let me put your vest on, so the staff will let you in, then we’ll go see your folks.”

Smudge stilled long enough for Captain-Steve-friend to do as he said and the feel of her work vest helped her calm a little, but she was still impatient.

Captain-Steve-friend’s forever-friend, Harvey, meowed from top of one of the bar stools and Smudge touched noses with the cat, but didn’t stay because Captain-Steve-friend _finally_ opened the door and she wanted to see her family.

~(*)~

Their breakfast trays had just been taken away when Darcy and James heard the distinctive click of Smudge’s nails on the hallway floor. They grinned wryly at each other and looked expectantly at the door. Steve knocked and said, “Someone _really_ wants to see you.”

“Come on in, Steve,” James said.

As soon as there was enough room, Smudge pushed her way in and immediately jumped onto the foot of the bed. She sat there, quivering with nerves, but she stayed until James moved to make room and said, “Be careful not to step on Mom, okay? She’s pretty sore. Be gentle.”

Smudge gave a little huff like she did when she thought her humans were being silly, but she carefully approached and sniffed at Darcy and gave her kisses.

Darcy buried the hand without the IV in Smudge’s ruff and murmured sweet nothings in the dog’s ear. After a few minutes, Smudge laid down with her head draped over Darcy’s arm and went boneless.

Steve was watching from the foot of the bed with a fond smile on his face. “Thor kept telling her that you were okay, but she wouldn’t settle down. We figured she should be the first one to see you when you were ready. How are you, Darcy?”

“Exhausted and sore, but doing pretty well otherwise,” she answered as she leaned back against her pillows. She gestured towards the bassinet. “Look what we made.”

A little fist waved from the bassinet and small, smacking sounds could be heard. Smudge’s head popped up and her ears swiveled. James grinned as he moved to pick up his daughter. “Right on schedule.”

Darcy rolled her eyes as she unsnapped her gown. “Not even a day old and she already has us whipped.”

Steve dropped his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, I can come back later.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Better get used to it now. It’s not like I’m going to leave whatever room I’m in whenever my kid is hungry. You can look, we’re covered.” When he looked up, Darcy had a receiving blanket draped over her front. Smudge had her nose to the blanket and was scenting the newborn as much as she could through the barrier.

“So, have you finally decided on a name?” Steve asked casually, like everyone in the tower hadn’t been asking for months.

James smirked at him. “Nice try. We’ll do the big reveal all at once. That way no one can claim favoritism. Family dinner in a few days? Potluck? I’ll probably be up to throwing together some lasagna, but the rest is up to you guys. Give us time to get settled and into a bit of a routine.”

Steve grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Sounds good. JARVIS and I will put the word out. Hopefully, the others won’t bug you too much.” He looked up at JARVIS’ camera in the corner. “I’m talking about you, Tony.”

Darcy snorfled as she switched the baby to her other breast. Tony had been adamant about them naming the baby some derivative of Anthony. _“What? Antonia is a perfectly good name!”_ was a refrain they’d heard way too many times in the last six months.

The baby finished her meal and James took her so Darcy could rearrange her gown. Steve sidled over to take a peek and James turned her so he could see.

“Oh,” Steve breathed. He reached out one long finger and touched her cheek. She flailed her tiny hand and caught it in a surprisingly strong grip. Even though she just finished eating, she managed to latch onto the tip and suck for all she was worth. Steve’s eyes widened in surprise and he looked at James and Darcy with a goofy grin on his face.

Darcy smiled tiredly back. “I know, right? Something that tiny shouldn’t be that strong.”

“She’s amazing and beautiful. Takes after her mother, obviously.”

“Yeah, she does,” James said smugly.

The baby yawned and released Steve’s finger, setting off James and Darcy. James put her in the bassinet and Steve gave him a hard hug when he straightened. Then he leaned over and gave Darcy a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations, you two. Get some rest. Do you want me to take Smudge with me?”

James nudged Smudge into moving back to the foot of the bed. She huffed, but did as bid and flopped to cover both their feet once James had laid down and gotten comfortable.

“Nah, she’ll be fine. Family bonding and all that. Thanks for bringing her,” Darcy said sleepily.

“No problem. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll see you later.”

“Mmhmm,” James murmured, his eyes already closed.

Steve couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he gently closed the door behind him.

~(*)~

Darcy-mom smelled different again, not quite like she did before her belly got big and her lap disappeared, but closer to it than she had for a long time. James-dad smelled like he always did. There was a new smell, though, that went with the tiny human. It smelled like Darcy-mom and James-dad and something uniquely its own. Smudge liked it. Her two favorite human smells all rolled into one.

She wondered if the new human would like to play with her like Martin-friend did when he came to visit. Smudge cocked her head and eyed the thing the new human was in. It was much smaller than Martin-friend, so maybe not for a while. That was okay, though. She’d watch over it anyway.

~(*)~

James sat in the rocking chair in the nursery and gently rocked his daughter. “Today’s the big day, _malen’kiy_. We get to tell everyone your name. It’s a special name, you know. You’re named for favorites: your mama’s favorite flower, my favorite singer, and your mama’s favorite grandmother. I know that might seem lopsided, but I still can’t remember too much about my family from Before. That’s okay, though, because I’ve got one heck of a family now. They’re all crazy, but every single one of them would go to the mat for me and your mom and now for you. Trust me, baby girl, you want some crazy on your side. As much as I’d like to say otherwise, you’ll need it someday.”

“Just when I didn’t think I could love you any more than I already do, you go and prove me wrong, you giant sap,” Darcy said from where she was leaning against the doorframe.

James looked at his wife and smiled sweetly. “Wouldn’t want you to get bored.”

Darcy shook her head. “Never happen.”

James stood and made his way towards her. He leaned in for a kiss, which she returned readily. “You ready for the madhouse?”

Everyone had been good about not overwhelming the new family; tonight would be the first night since Darcy went into labor that they’d all be together.

“You know what? I am. As much as I like the quiet while we try to find our way, I miss the crazy.”

James nodded in agreement and held out his free hand which she took happily. “Me, too. Shall we?”

“We shall.”

When they entered the common room, they stopped in surprise at the sight of the “Welcome to the World, Baby Girl” banner strung up between two columns. Two long tables were heavy with food and drinks; there were streamers and balloons in light shades of yellow, peach, and green strewn about and none of it had been there when James had put lasagna pans in the oven earlier that afternoon. 

“You people work quick when you put your mind to it,” he said.

“We have our moments,” Natasha said dryly.

Darcy grinned at everyone. “This rocks. Thank you!”

Tony bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know we’re awesome. Put us out of our misery already and tell us what you named the spawn.” He yelped when Jane and Pepper smacked him at the same time.

James and Darcy looked at each other and then down at their daughter with loving smiles on their faces. They looked up and Darcy said, “Avengers and company, meet Lillyella Ava Lewis-Barnes.”

-30-

**Author's Note:**

> Russian Translation (according to Google Translate): Malen’kiy= Little One


End file.
